A Transcendent Cause

We are just a couple of weeks away from the birth of our fourth child. Fourth child, but first son, and I’m nervous and excited about it.

I recently read Raising a Modern-Day Knight, A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood by Robert Lewis. In it, he highlights the need for ceremonies to mark the transition from boyhood to manhood.

The first ceremony of my son’s journey to manhood will be just after delivery. I’ll use this knife to cut his umbilical cord, separating him from his mother. The knife will be given to him in another ceremony when he comes of age, leaves home, and it is time to “cut the apron strings.” I’m sure there will be other ceremonies during the intervening years, but these are the two that I’ve settled on for now.

This ceremony wasn't mentioned in the book, and I didn't think of it myself. The credit goes to Nathan Dahlstrom who has done this for all of his daughters. He's encouraged me to do this , but this will be the first time that I've done it. I'm looking forward to him being involved in West's manhood ceremonies in the years to come.